The applications staff of Park Systems is proud to present an introduction to both scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). SICM is one type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) technique that allows researchers to determine the surface topography of samples at nanometer range in a non-destructive manner and under in-situ conditions. SECM is another type of SPM technique that can allow researchers to investigate the local electrochemical phenomena at various materials interfaces in-liquid.

SICM uses the increase of access resistance in a nanopipette placed in an electrolyte solution and monitors the ionic current flowing in and out of this probe—a flow that is hindered as the tip closes in on a sample surface. In SECM, an electrode tip is used to acquire spatially resolved electrochemical signals over a region of interest. The 2D raster scan information can then be compiled to provide users with images of surface reactivity and information on the rates of chemical processes.

Join us as the Technical Marketing staff at Park Systems, explains the basics of both SICM and SECM and reviews potential applications for each technique separately and jointly for investigations in analytical chemistry and electrochemistry.

The Park NX10 equipped with a SICM head and sample under aqueous solution loaded for topographical characterization with a nanopipette.